Kazakhstan is the biggest economy in Central Asia, and has large
oil reserves, and is the world’s largest producer of uranium. It
is also closely politically aligned with Russia, and along with
Belarus is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, which comes
into force on January 1, 2015.

The EU is Kazakhstan's biggest trading partner and foreign
investor. Bilateral trade between the two countries is €31
billion, and the EU accounts for over half of foreign direct
investment in Kazakhstan, according to a statement released by the EC on Thursday.
Kazakhstan exports €24 billion worth of goods to Europe, with oil
deliveries making up 7.5 percent, or €1.8 billion. The EU exports
manufactured goods, machinery, and equipment to the landlocked
ex-Soviet state.

On Friday Nazarbayev with meet with heads of state from Russia,
Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in Minsk where they are
expected to sign a document disbanding the Eurasian Economic
Community (EurAsEC) signed in the 1990s in order to prepare for
the Eurasian Economic Union, which will be the largest common
market in the ex-Soviet sphere come January

The Kazakh president has suggested establishing a free trade zone
involving Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan;
all bordering the Caspian Sea and oil-rich.